Official MLB Thread

[blackula]

What's up Romeo....Cuddyer is retiring, 12 million in payroll saved! Is this what we need to sign Cespedes or Upton?

[Romeo]

What's up Romeo....Cuddyer is retiring, 12 million in payroll saved! Is this what we need to sign Cespedes or Upton?

Do you want Cespedes? He was like A-Rod in the playoffs/WS. a dud.

Let's see what Neil Walker brings to the plate (no pun intended). I knew they wouldn't resign Murphy

[Romeo]

Solid year.
didnt the royals runner up last year?

April 3rd guess who the Mets open the 2016 season against....

The Royals.


God has a sick sense of humor

[blackula]

What's up Romeo....Cuddyer is retiring, 12 million in payroll saved! Is this what we need to sign Cespedes or Upton?

Do you want Cespedes? He was like A-Rod in the playoffs/WS. a dud.

Let's see what Neil Walker brings to the plate (no pun intended). I knew they wouldn't resign Murphy

I want a power hitter, doesn't have to be Cespedes. The Mets don't have a presence in the batting order. Murphy was amazing in the NLDS and NLCS because he couldn't be pitched around. Cespedes brought an element of fear and everyone in the batting order benefitted. I'm fine with letting Murphy go, dude couldn't field and the Mets shouldn't overpay for 1 hot streak. I don't have an answer, hard to find a place for a big bat. The infield is set and so is the outfield pretty much. My only fear is the 52-50 Mets needing to trade for a bat just like last year.

[Romeo]

I saw on instagram that Grandy had his thumb surgically repaired so he'll be back in good form

[Artemis]

Less than a week until the new baseball season!

A friend of mine just saw the baseball documentary "Fastball" and really enjoyed it. Some of you here may be interested to see it...here's the trailer and a review.



http://variety.com/2016/film/reviews/fa ... 201737679/

Jonathan Hock's doc features an all-star lineup of hall-of-famers waxing nostalgic and poetic about their time on the diamond.

A baseball documentary for old-timers and young analytics acolytes alike, “Fastball” sets out, as its nominal goal, to deduce who threw history’s all-time fastest pitch. That intention, however, is merely the pretext for an alternately mythologizing and scientific inquiry into the art of pitching — a seemingly simple act that, over the course of baseball’s century-plus lifespan, has taken on legendary status. That’s especially true of those blessed with velocity at which to marvel — not always easy an easy task, at least for those ensconced in the batter’s box. With an all-star lineup of hall-of-famers waxing nostalgic and poetic about their time on the diamond, writer-director Jonathan Hock’s documentary has a thrilling pop that should help it strike a competitive chord with anyone even remotely enchanted by our national pastime.

Narrated by Kevin Costner in a reverent “Field of Dreams”-style tone, Hock’s film divides itself into chapters, each of them focused on a famed fastballer, beginning with Rich “Goose” Gossage, the handlebar-mustached flamethrower whose enormous size and nasty attitude enhanced his ability to intimidate batters. Throughout “Fastball,” a pitcher’s physicality and demeanor are presented as equally key components of his fearsomeness, as was also true of St. Louis Cardinals great Bob Gibson. A towering African-American, Gibson derived his power from anger born from a lifetime of enduring racism, and scared opponents silly simply by squinting intensely at his catcher — a move that, he admits, was actually necessitated by his poor eyesight.

Hock’s quest to locate the game’s mightiest throw begins with Walter Johnson, the early-20th-century Washington Senators pitcher who, during his heyday, was widely considered to have the fastest pitch in the world. His unofficial crown would be reconfirmed by a speed test executed via military equipment, and would last until the 1936 arrival in the big leagues of Bob Feller. With the Cleveland Indians, Feller (aka “the Heater From Van Meter”) not only became the gold standard for blazing four-seamers, but actively sought to evaluate his arm’s absolute athletic limits — culminating with another rudimentary speed-monitoring assessment that placed his pitch at a then-record 98.6 mph.

Amid these history lessons, “Fastball” also profiles some of today’s most formidable starters and closers, including the Atlanta Braves’ Craig Kimbrel — the first man to ever lead the league in saves in each of his first four seasons — and the Cincinnati Reds’ Aroldis Chapman, who in 2010 notched the fastest verified MLB pitch, at a whopping 105.1 mph. Chapman’s achievement is, in and of itself, eye-opening. However, just as fascinating is the film’s suggestion (via a historian’s comments) that humanity has nearly reached its evolutionary ceiling with regards to throwing fast — how else to explain that, while Jesse Owens’ once-unbreakable track-and-field benchmarks are now routinely bested by high schoolers, MLBers are only, at their peak, equaling their famed predecessors?

In a roundtable chat between Joe Morgan, Johnny Bench, George Brett, Al Kaline and the late Tony Gwynn, as well as in interviews with Hank Aaron, Derek Jeter, Wade Boggs, Bryce Harper and others, illustrious hitters make their picks for the fastest-throwing pitcher they ever encountered (no surprise that Sandy Koufax figures prominently in those discussions), and their anecdotes help steep the film in a lived-in sense of tradition. At the same time, however, Hock bolsters those legends’ accounts through scientific scrutiny, with physicists explaining the neuromechanical process required to hit a ball travelling at literal blink-and-you’ll-miss-it speeds, dispelling players’ commonly held belief that the greatest fastballs “rise” as they approach the plate — an effect born from the way batters visually perceive the ball — and synchronizing speed tests from different eras in order to identify the sport’s greatest flamethrower.

That investigation inevitably leads to Nolan Ryan, whose 27-year career with the New York Mets, California Angels, Houston Astros and Texas Rangers was marked by an astonishing seven no-hitters and 5,714 strikeouts. Ryan’s hard-throwing style is rightfully celebrated as being all the more remarkable because of his durability, with the pitcher only finally calling it quits when his elbow gave out, mid-game, at the age of 46. His amazing longevity stands in stark contrast to that of Steve Dalkowski, a ‘50s-‘60s minor leaguer (reportedly the inspiration for Tim Robbins’ “Bull Durham” character) whose fastball’s fabled speed was only matched by its wildness. A lack of control, along with an injury suffered just as he was gaining mastery over his gift, would halt Dalkowski’s career before it really began, and his story provides the film with a melancholy note about the terrible fragility of athletic skill.

“Fastball” conveys its canny mathematical analysis with clean, clever graphical flourishes that smoothly align with Hock’s Ken Burns-ish nonfiction aesthetics. The result is a film that captures the underlying essence of baseball at the beginning of the 21st century: both humbly wistful and progressively cutting-edge.

[kv]

Less than a week until the new baseball season!

.....enjoy though!

[Artemis]

I'm suprised Bautista didn't have his teeth knocked out!

[blackula]

Romeo......WTF is up with Joba Harvey???

[Ganondorf]

go cubs


seriously.. that'd be mint as fuck

[Artemis]

Wow what happened to Cleveland today,eh?? They lost 17-1!!
Actually kind of an odd series. On Friday it was a 19 innings, 6+hour marathon.

[Angry Canine]

This year, we have a great comedy troupe here, called the Reds pitching staff.
They have two go to routines. One is to walk the 6 or so batters in a row. The other is to walk the first 3 or 4, then give up a monster home run. They also like to let extra inning games turn into blow outs. As of tonight they have given up 61 runs more than the next worst staff.
Rather entertaining.

[Romeo]

Romeo......WTF is up with Joba Harvey???

I was never a Harvey fan.
I think he is overate


But Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia All stars!
I'm also happy Jose is back.

[Artemis]

I don't care for the retro All Star jerseys. The brown and yellow combo isn't doing it for me.

[blackula]

Romeo......WTF is up with Joba Harvey???

I was never a Harvey fan.
I think he is overate


But Yoenis Cespedes, Noah Syndergaard and Jeurys Familia All stars!
I'm also happy Jose is back.

Agree, happy to see Reyes back. Bummed about the Syndegaard dead arm. Phil Hughes missed 2 months with the Yankees from this same phantom injury. Still got half a season left, who knows. Should get Whealer back in August. Last 5 series of the year are with shit teams (Braves,Phillies) so a late 12-3 run will be possible. Plus, trade deadline upgrade is possible.

Unrelated, the Bad News Bears picture above reminds me. I watched the second one a few weeks ago and it blows my mind how different things were in the late 70's. When they get the Italian kid on the team pitching Tanner goes "jews, spics, niggers and now a whop that throws air balls". In a kids movie!! Can you imagine that now?

[intertwoven]

I don't care for the retro All Star jerseys. The brown and yellow combo isn't doing it for me.

Growing up a kid in San Diego in the 80s, I wish the Padres would go back to these colors. That said, it's weird to see guys from all teams wearing them. I've got friends who are Dodgers fans throwing a shit over their guys in these unis, and I get it.

On a related note, big ups to MLB for renaming the batting crown awards after Rod Carew and Tony Gwynn.

[kv]

i miss those padres uni's almost as much as i miss the old dark blue chargers uni's....way to fuck stuff up san diego!!1! every time i see those padres colors i think of tony gwynn

[Angry Canine]

i miss those padres uni's almost as much as i miss the old dark blue chargers uni's....way to fuck stuff up san diego!!1! every time i see those padres colors i think of tony gwynn

I miss a lot of those late 70s early 80s. Especially SD, and Houston. And those original Mariners hats with the trident.

[wally]

I don't care for the retro All Star jerseys. The brown and yellow combo isn't doing it for me.

you are wrong. I love the 80s throwback style
I live about 4 blocks from the ballpark, downtown has been crazy this week!
I picked up one of these bad boys for myself...

and one of these for my gf

[Artemis]

After the win today against Baltimore , Jays are in first place in the AL east!

I have tickets to a game in August against the Astros. My one and only game so far this season.

[intertwoven]

Not happy about the Padres trading the heart of their team for a wife-beating rookie.

[farrellgirl99]

Not happy about the Padres trading the heart of their team for a wife-beating rookie.

and then they dfa'd him. such a weird trade ha.

i am SO HAPPY the yankees saw the writing on the wall and sold this deadline. cashman made excellent moves and now we have a robust farm system. he basically rebuilt our entire farm system in a week by getting three former first-round picks and top 100 prospects.

im glad chapman is gone (for domestic violence reasons) although he may be resigned in the offseason. im going to miss miller and beltran cause they were great this year, but we needed to sell them.

for the first time in a long time, the yankees future is bright!

im going to the subway series tomorrow night to see tanaka/degrom. should be fun

[blackula]

Not happy about the Padres trading the heart of their team for a wife-beating rookie.

and then they dfa'd him. such a weird trade ha.

i am SO HAPPY the yankees saw the writing on the wall and sold this deadline. cashman made excellent moves and now we have a robust farm system. he basically rebuilt our entire farm system in a week by getting three former first-round picks and top 100 prospects.

im glad chapman is gone (for domestic violence reasons) although he may be resigned in the offseason. im going to miss miller and beltran cause they were great this year, but we needed to sell them.

for the first time in a long time, the yankees future is bright!

im going to the subway series tomorrow night to see tanaka/degrom. should be fun

Yeah, I think Cashman did a great job. Glad the Steinbrenners let him, the Yankees weren't going anywhere. On the other hand I'm not too into the Mets moves. We already have 3 corner outfielders so let's bring in Jay Bruce?

Although we'll be rooting for different results, enjoy the game! Should be a great pitching match!

[farrellgirl99]

While position-wise Jay Bruce doesn't make sense, I guess they were just so desperate for offense? You would know more as you watch the Mets all the time. Bringing in a guy with 80 rbis cant hurt when they've been struggling so much.

How do you feel about giving up Dilson Herrera? Do you think it's worth it for trying to make it this year instead of holding on for next when you have everyone healthy again?

[blackula]

The Mets logic not signing Murphy was that Herera was the future 2nd basemen and will be ready for 2017 so they rented Walker on a 1 year deal. If Herera ended up being expendable to bring in offense why didn't we just sign Mutphy instead of letting the Nats bring him in to kill us? Defense...that was one reason but look at the outfield now.... no real center fielder on a pitching team.

Alderson has made some great moves. Getting Syndergaard for Dickey was genious and although they gave up a great young pitcher for Cespedes it did get them to the Series.

The Mets have now lost their starting 1st, 3rd and SS for the year so I guess it was desperation but why give up the 2nd basemen of the future if we're not winning anything this year?